Hydrogen is commonly produced from hydrocarbon fossil fuels. One of the significant problems of using hydrocarbon fossil fuels to generate hydrogen is that the process generates carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas. An alternative source for hydrogen production is water. Currently available methods of generating hydrogen from water include biological hydrogen production, electrolysis of water, chemical production, and thermochemical production.
Some researchers report that Group IV transitional metals react with water and generate hydrogen gas and a metal hydroxide. However, no stable hydrogen production system exists that is able to produce hydrogen efficiently and economically in a steady manner and with a constant rate at low temperatures below 500° F.